This time of year we do many things pumpkin and that includes nearly a weekly batch of some sort of pumpkin muffins or bread! Growing up there was nothing more that I enjoyed than a muffin! Even as an adult when I wanted something sweet I craved muffins. In most cases, muffins are essentially a morning cake, not so healthy given they are loaded with unhealthy oils, sugar and white flour. I love muffins because they are quick and easy to pull together, they feel like a treat compared to a bowl of oatmeal, they freeze and travel well. For a working mom (or any mom/dad for that matter) muffins are king when you need a quick, healthy breakfast for zombie like munchkins in the morning.
I like to prep and mix the dry ingredients in a big mixing bowl and prep the muffin tin the night before. Then in the morning I quickly whip together the wet ingredients and combine everything up and pop them in the oven before I go to work. The girls wake up to a heavenly pumpkin spice … [Read more...]

Sometimes my body cravings a reset or cleansing meal that is not a smoothie or salad but something warm, soothing and gently on the tummy. Soups are a year-long favorite meal for me. Like smoothies, pureed soups allow the body to easily digest and assimilate the nutrients. They are quick and easy to prepare and can be made in big batches so you have enough to get you through the week.
The Liver Detox Soup below is a fantastic cleanser to keep in your tool belt or pull out once a month or when you need it. Our body rids its toxins via the liver, which is the master metabolizer and one of the hardest working organs in the body. It tirelessly filters our blood, breaks down hormones, stores essential vitamins and minerals and produces bile needed to digest fat. Given the amount of toxins that we are exposed to in our modern era via food, environmental pollutants and endocrine disrupting personal care products. Often our livers get over worked and are not able to keep up, not … [Read more...]

I love a good veggie burger. I am constantly tweaking recipes or creating new ones depending on what we have on hand or needs to be used. This recipe is a great base that you can add your favorite spices too or top with your favorite toppings. Freedom to create your own masterpiece of a burger! We have a surplus of sweet potatoes on hand so this week we are making Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers! It's different every time. With the summer weather and we have burger fever!
Serve your Sweet Potato Veggie Burger on your favorite kind of bun, over a large leaf lettuce, slice it up into a wrap or under a fried egg. Make as part of your Sunday Meal Prep and have as part of your week day salad lunch or stash a few in the freezer for a quick dinner option.
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A quick and easy marinara sauce to make for pasta, pizza night or any time you need a quick red sauce. We use this as our base for many sauces, adding in extra veggies, a protein or beans to make the sauce a little heartier. See the NOTE section for easy ways to turn this into a thick vegan protein-packed sauce or a meat sauce. … [Read more...]

Before we had kids we used to make our vinaigrettes or dressings on the fly or if we were in a rush or being lazy we would just throw a little vinegar over our greens and be done. But since having kids I’ve embraced the idea of planning ahead and making more things in bulk for quick meal to put together meals. This one thing alone I swear helps keep my evening meals less chaotic and stressful. Even when I think I have tons of time something comes up or Mama’s attention is needed. So am babbling here I know! I now try to make a kid friendly and sometimes separate, adult friendly dressing I can throw on salads over roasted veg or dip bread into.
Below is my basic vinaigrette, which I sweeten with maple syrup or honey to make more palatable for the girls. I like to change up the oils I use. Sometimes I mix a few tablespoons of olive oil with flaxseed oil or hemp oil or at the moment I am loving Udi's Oil DHA 3-6-9 Blend which is an award winning, plant-based (vegan) non-GMO omega … [Read more...]

It February already! Wow! I’m both shocked and excited because once we get through February we are over the hump for winter and spring is around the corner. Despite it being February and we are officially past pumpkin season I noticed in our storage room how many cans of pumpkin we still have. May have over stocked this year but as you have seen from past blogs…we LOVE PUMPKIN!!
The recipe below for Pumpkin Delights (had to come up with a name for these on the fly to boost excitement in my sleepy my girlies!!) came about from a kitchen scramble after realizing what little was left in the house for breakfast. Someone needs to hit the grocery store!! I was short on my gluten-free flour mix but we had a big old container of oats! Given how many times we have had oats these past few weeks, knew I had to come up with something different and so these Pumpkin Delights were born. I was super excited and delighted (hence the name) to see how well these Pumpkin Delights turned out. … [Read more...]

Going on 20 years now living with food allergies (or food restrictions), I have learned a lot. I am more confident today in how I manage meals outside of the house but it is still not without its challenges. I still get nervous asking a friend or relative if it’s ok if we bring our own food or prep something in their kitchen. There are always lots of questions, but it always turns out beautifully, and more often than not we introduce new food ideas to the people in our lives.
As a parent the most challenging social settings for me to navigate around is birthday parties or events outside of a home, where the typical foods are off-limits for the girls. I used to dread birthday parties because my little one would get very upset about being left out, not being able to have the birthday cake or pizza, even though she knew it made her sick. She HATED being the idea of bringing a safe, special cupcake or snack because she would be different. She doesn’t like to stand out or be noticeably … [Read more...]

Years ago, I made a Warm French Lentils dish on a whim when we had my former boss and his wife over for dinner. We served it along with freshly caught scallops, some greens and a good bottle of wine. The scallops were supposed to be the star of the meal but these lentils literally stole the show. While cooking, they made our house smell so amazing the guests asked if we could skip appetizers and go straight to dinner! Their our mouths were watering!
I have since tweaked the recipe a little, to use turkey bacon instead (which the girls preferred and is easy to get nitrate free!). The recipe below for French Lentils has become a regular on our rotation and a meal the girls request often. So popular it was even requested as their birthday dinner meal and as a Christmas eve dinner.
There are many lentils out there but the best lentils to use for this is are Puy. Puy lentils are very small and dark in color and are from an area of France called Le Puy in the Auvergne (hence … [Read more...]

This Chicken Rice Soup is probably one of the easiest homemade recipes. You drop the items in a big soup pot and literally step away while it cooks. This is a great recipe to make ahead of time for a quick and easy meal when you have no time to spare. Using homemade Chicken Broth makes the chicken rice soup incredibly medicinal, healing and just what the doctor ordered if you are feeling under the weather. Of course using boxed chicken broth or stock cubes is also great and makes this soup even faster to whip up!
This version of chicken rice soup is a basic one but one that you can add to or modified depending on what you have on hand and your tastes.
For a fun variation, try swapping the rice with your favorite pasta or quinoa for a little extra protein. To make this soup vegetarian, replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth and the chicken with some chickpeas or black beans. Try adding in some extras to spice things up (a little red pepper flakes), top it with some … [Read more...]

One of the easiest staples to have on your back burner….literally! Homemade chicken broth is one of the easiest things to throw together, takes no skill or fancy kitchen equipment, just a little bit of your time to reap the benefits. Vegetable or chicken broths are great to have on hand to cook beans or grains, throw into sauces, stews or to turn into the base of a soup. The longer cooking time will give you a rich medicinal broth that is perfect as a base for a meal or to simply sip on throughout the day.
ONCE YOU LEARN HOW TO MAKE THIS CHICKEN BROTH YOU WILL BE HOOKED!
So save those chicken bones and unused vegetables that you were thinking of tossing. Instead throw them into a big pot with some water and a few spices. The chicken broth recipe below is a robust one that will pack in the nutrients, like medicine in a pot. No need to peel things, just chop them up to fit in the pot. If I don't have all the ingredients listed (or the time to chop) I use a simpler version to make … [Read more...]